THIS is why the GOP shouldn't be jumping for joy about the Halbig decision...

OK, I'll have much more to say about today's Halbig decision this afternoon, but for the moment, let me just repost a press release, verbatim, from the campaign of Mark Totten, presumptive* Democratic nominee for Attorney General here in Michigan:

(*ok, technically he's not the nominee until after the MDP convention next month, but I'm pretty sure he's uncontested).

Federal court backs Schuette’s crusade to raise taxes by nearly $5,000 on a half-million Michigan families, while shipping Michigan tax dollars to California and New York

KALAMAZOO — Today a federal court in Washington, D.C. backed Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s crusade to deny tax credits for Michigan families purchasing health insurance. Under today’s ruling sought by Schuette, nearly a half million Michigan families will lose an annual $4,700 tax credit, while Michigan taxpayers will continue to pay for families in other states to receive these credits. (Numbers and sources below.)

Mark Totten, a Democratic candidate for Michigan Attorney General, stated: “Today’s decision is the culmination of Schuette’s crusade to strip nearly $5,000 a year from a half million Michigan families and ship our tax dollars to New York and California. This case is not really about Obamacare, which remains the law of the land; it’s about Bill Schuette trying to score political points with the most extreme fringe of his party, even at the cost of hurting Michigan families.”

After joining the lawsuit on Feb. 6, 2014, Schuette never issued a press release or otherwise informed the public of his attempt to deny tax credits to Michigan families. The Detroit Free Press, however, broke the story on Feb. 21, 2014, which resulted in multiple stories in other news sources around the state.

In his brief, Schuette argued that states with federal-created rather than state-created exchanges do not qualify for the tax credits. In 2012, Schuette successfully led the fight against Gov. Snyder’s plan for a state-created exchange. (Detroit News editorial, “Time to Act on Health Exchanges,” 7/5/12.)

Michigan has 492,542 people, plus dependents, who are eligible for the tax credits denied by today’s ruling. (Center for Healthcare Transformation Research, Univ. of Mich.). The average estimated tax credit in 2014 is $4,700. (Congressional Budget Office.) The estimated value of these tax credits for Michigan in 2017, once the law is fully implemented, is $2.5 billion. (Congressional Budget Office, derived from the total national value proportioned for Michigan based on population.)

Mark Totten is a former federal prosecutor and a law professor at Michigan State University College of Law. He holds a law degree and a PhD in ethics from Yale University. Totten previously served as an attorney in the United States Department of Justice and as a clerk on a federal court of appeals. A media kit including a biography and media photos is available here.